States Slow Pace of Antiabortion-Rights Legislation, But Restrictions Up Overall, Guttmacher Report Shows

July 9, 2014 —
States passed fewer abortion restrictions in the first half of this year compared with the same time period in any of the past three years, but state laws restricting abortion access continue to vastly outnumber those expanding access, according to a report released Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute, Vox reports (Kliff, Vox, 7/8).

According to the report, 13 states passed 21 abortion restrictions in the first half of 2014, about half of the number of restrictions passed during the same time period last year and nearly one-fourth of the number passed in the first half of 2011 (Chokshi, "GovBeat," Washington Post, 7/8).

However, Guttmacher researchers said part of the shift is cyclical, as some state legislatures had shorter sessions than past years because of the midterm election and others states that heavily restrict abortion rights, such as Texas, do not hold legislative sessions in even-numbered years (Viebeck, The Hill, 7/8). In addition, researchers noted that legislatures focused more on other health care issues this year, which shifted the focus away from abortion-related legislation (Novack, National Journal, 7/8).

New Abortion Restrictions

The laws enacted this year include measures in Arizona and Indiana granting state health agencies the ability to conduct unannounced inspections of abortion clinics, while Georgia and Indiana limited abortion coverage in health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act's (PL 111-148) insurance marketplaces. Mississippi banned abortions after a certain point in pregnancy, Oklahoma restricted access to medication abortion and South Dakota banned abortions based on the sex of the fetus.

Overall, states have passed 226 new abortion restrictions since 2011 (Vox, 7/8). The number of states with Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers, or TRAP, laws has increased to 26, up from 11 in 2000. TRAP laws impose restrictions on abortion providers, such as licensing rules or requiring physicians to have hospital admitting privileges, with the aim of forcing clinics to close for noncompliance, according to Guttmacher ("GovBeat," Washington Post, 7/8).

According to the report, "59 percent of women of reproductive age live in a state that has enacted targeted regulation of abortion providers" (The Hill, 7/8).

Laws Protecting Reproductive Health Access

So far this year, the report found that three states have increased access to abortion services. Utah waived a mandatory counseling requirement for women seeking the procedure because of fetal impairment. Meanwhile, Vermont took a law off the books from before Roe v. Wade that banned abortion, while New Hampshire enacted a "buffer zone" law, although the Supreme Court's recent ruling on a similar measure could put it in jeopardy, according to the Washington Post's "GovBeat."

Video Round Up

An Interview with Justice Ginsburg on the State of Abortion Access

In a rare interview, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tells MSNBC's Irin Carmon it is a "crying shame" that state abortion restrictions are making the procedure increasingly "[i]naccessible" to many low-income women. Watch the video

Datapoints

A Look at Abortion Coverage in the ACA's Marketplace Plans, Repro Health Report Card, More

This week's charts depict why abortion coverage is unavailable in many states' ACA marketplace plans for 2015. We also feature a national reproductive health report card and an interactive look at abortion restrictions in Missouri. Read more

At A Glance

"[Roe v. Wade] protects a woman's freedom to make her own choices about her body and her health, and reaffirms a fundamental American value: that government should not intrude in our most private and personal family matters."

— President Obama, commemorating the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Read more